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MAY

02

2010

the temperature reached 90°F today. it was already 69°F in my bedroom when i woke up this morning. after a tunafish sandwich for lunch, i rode my bicycle down to harvard square to briefly check out the may fair.

there didn't seem to be as many people compared to years past, despite the very nice (albeit hot) weather, but maybe it was still early (1:00). i go to see the sidewalk chalk artists. after i did my usual loop, i returned to my bicycle. parked my the harvard science building was a red motorcycle that i've seen before. never noticed it before, but it's actually the same model that i have (honda shadow spirit), just in red (the rear seat is a rectangular block, versus a more streamlined curve on post-2007 shadow spirit models). for some reason it seems smaller, but probably because it doesn't have a windshield like on my bike. motorcycles are all same but it's the customization that makes them unique. this one had a backrest, reflective bolts on the license plate, bungie netting wrapped on the backseat, and a clock bolted onto the handlebar. it seems like a real utility bike, because there were rust stains on some of the chrome, signs that the owner leaves it out in the elements. because the shadow spirit uses a digital odometer, i couldn't get a read on the number of miles, but if i had to guess, it's probably a lot.

nobody was home when i bicycled to belmont. i let hailey out into the backyard, but after a few minutes in the heat she was clamoring to be let back inside. i saw it yesterday, but the seeds i planted more than a week ago have finally started to sprout. i've got rows of snap peas, and even a few sweet peas. sweet peas are either later to germinate, or i just picked a bad location and slugs and other critters have already eaten the seedlings (i noticed a few stumps). all the greens i planted have also sprouted (lettuce, mesclun).

the wisteria has also begun to flower, at the sake of a nearby tree that it managed to climb on top of to reach the sun and slowly strangle this supporting partner to death. i've been trying to get my father to prune back this wisteria before it does anymore damage but he seems perfectly fine with the arrangement.

my mother and sister returned from the cafe in the mid-afternoon. ever since my parents got back from china, if they're not at work then they're at home sleeping. their vacation seemed to have drained them of all their energy and they're still not revived yet. to make matters worse, they both seemed to have contracted a cold as soon as they got back into town.

the only person in my family who seemed to be freaked out about the temporary water boil alert is my sister. my parents, having grown up in taiwan, are used to life where you can't drink the tap water without boiling. when my sister found out during dinner that my father had the opportunity this morning to pick up a free case of water from the belmont town hall but didn't bother going, she couldn't believe it and berated him the rest of the night. i think people have forgotten that water just doesn't come from bottles. we still have water from the tap, but it just needs to be boiled first before drinking. but even if you don't boil it, i think the chances of catching something is very small. but leave it to my sister to get all paranoid about water safety, replacing regular dishes with paper plates and using disposable utensils. while the rest of us ate with hand-washed bowls, she emptied out a ramen container just so she could use the styrofoam cup.

it was 75°F when i rode back to cambridge. i don't sweat riding a motorcycle, unlike when i'm bicycling. so it's not something i've ever considered, but today would've been a great day to wear some shorts. bicycling in my pants with this hot weather made for a very clammy ride due to my sweaty legs. i ran into ed just as i was pulling into my street. he was a little annoyed that he couldn't find a parking spot, blaming the nearby construction work which created a refugee situation as more cars flooded onto our street.

finally, breaking bad! divert your eyes from the following spoilers, but shame on you for not watching the best show on television right now (and even more shame if you're planning on waiting for the season to be over so you can watch the whole series when it comes out on dvd). the final 5 minutes i couldn't even breathe, it was so riveting. macho man hank the DEA agent was a real asshole in the past, but this season he seems to be the only good guy amongst the characters. that final 5 minutes when the twins are about to assassinate him but hank survives in some major badass ways, but also due to luck. and one of the twins saying "muy fácil (too easy)," and getting the axe instead of just shooting hank, that was insane.